Twice the Viewing Pleasure

Iron Man Kicks Off the Summer Hits

This past weekend I got he chance to do something I only do about four times a year tops.

Go to the movies.

Whoa, I know, that’s amazing, right? It’s just that my DH has a pretty demanding job and as I cannot stand to go to the movies by myself and all my other adult playmates are uber busy too, I don’t get the chance to go very often. I was totally stoked when all my bitching and whining got DH to see Iron Man with me though! And this is srsly one that you’ll want to see in the theaters as well as own for home viewing pleasure.

Basic back story: Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.)is head of America’s top weapons manufacturer and a filthy rich bastard of a playboy. Responsibility is almost completely foreign to him, despite his adolescent ascent into the realms of genius all too few will see. Following in his famous father’s footsteps, it seems he has everything he could ever want: a palatial hillside estate in Malibu, women and fast cars. When a trip to demonstrate weapons gets him kidnapped by terrorists though, Tony realizes he can do more for the world than make weapons, weapons that his kidnappers make ready use of. Instead of building the Jericho missile, his latest invention, for the terrorists, he fashions a suit that enables him to break out of the desert encampment, and thus Iron Man is born. Determined to right the wrongs he has had a hand in by building weapons, Stark goes full throttle into superhero territory, defending innocents. Soon, it becomes apparent who his real enemies are, and he’ll have to work even harder to make sure his best invention yet, Iron Man, doesn’t end up in the wrong hands too.

I’m no different than a lot of people during this time of year in that I really enjoy a GOOD action movie with a basically decent plot and characters. This one delivered – big time. I’d heard a review of it from my favorite reviewer, Lamar from the Bob & Sheri morning radio show, and I have to say his take on it was spot on. Robert Downey, who we haven’t seen breaking any box office records lately, totally steals the show with this one and blows his duel roles out of the water. His dry, almost insensitive wit makes for many a memorable scene and even interactions with some artificial intelligence bots in his garage come across as humorous and enjoyable.

His assistant, Pepper Pots (Gwyneth Paltrow), is a totally classy lady, devoted to her long-time boss and I agree with Lamar’s take too in that she’s “wasted” in this movie. What lines she’s given are usually perfectly times bits of humor and I laughed my ass off at her line to one of Stark’s women, who’s spent the night near the beginning of the movie. When she insults Pots for only be relegated to bringing her her dry cleaning, Pots responds that she does anything Stark requires of her, even taking out the trash.

One thing I liked about this movie is that it is classic superhero without being overtly cheesy to the point of embarrassment. You know what I mean, the points where you just wince and want to look away it’s just that bad. I have to admit though that this movie not only pumped up the action volume but also kept the cheese factor on relatively low settings. The baddies were OK, but next to Stark and Iron Man, I didn’t mind that they factored in some of that minuscule cheese. The only part I felt was overdone at all was one of the baddies’ participation towards to end of the movie.

Added bonus? Downey looked hot. Despite his run of bad luck with drugs, he seemed to really pull this movie off in top form. Just picture: tight little buns of iron perfection…without the fancy suit too. ;)

All in all, I would give this movie a solid five stars and I cannot wait for it to arrive on DVD, not to mention the next installment.

Image found at the Iron Man Official Site

Next up this past lazy weekend was The Golden Compass, just out on DVD. This was one of those I tried to get to the theater to see, alas it was not to be. Still though, it made for great Sunday night time absorbing fun.

This is the kind of movie I dream about when I sleep. By that, I mean it’s the kind of thing I imagine and dream up, and what I want to see put to life before my wide awake eyes. Again, I lucked out in that this movie was awesome. My one peeve is that it felt rushed and I can only assume that because it’s based on a popular children’s book, one I’d meant to read before seeing the movie. Other than that, the characters, the settings and imagery – all fantastic.

I found the concept of the characters’ souls walking beside them in animal forms, these daemons, to be fascinating. Lyra, who is both precocious and naively innocent at once, has a daemon named Pan, who can take on multiple forms since she is still a child and her daemon hasn’t “settled” yet. Most of the time, he walks beside her in weasel/ferret form, other times he’s a cat, mouse or this butterfly looking thing. Either way, he’s a living extension of Lyra, and we learn a great deal about her personality through him (as we do other characters as well and their daemons).

Lyra is special in that she has the talent to read the last alethiometer in existence, a device that tells the truth given the right questions. The Magisterium would like to rid their world of it, for they are hiding a terrible secret, one that Lyra is on a fast course towards uncovering. When her uncle, Lord Asriel, embarks on a trip to the North to discover and test theories on Dust, a matter that the Magisterium feels threatened by, Lara is left unprotected. Children have been disappearing off the streets, and when two of her closest friends go missing too, she’s not going to sit pretty and hope for the best. What begins from there is a coming of age type of discovery about who she is, what she’s destined for and how she will get there.

From iced northern, witch ruled territories, to great ice bears and evil plots, this turned out to be a very unique and fantastical experience of a movie. Definitely worth the DVD purchase and one I will be watching time and time again for the beautiful, classic struggle of good vs. evil. Another enthralling top, five star movie and one I would recommend for adults as well as children, though it might be a bit frightening for some children five and younger, due to some fight scenes. It ends on a big question of what will happen next to Lyra, and I hope we’ll not have to wait too long to find out in the theaters.

Image found via the Official Golden Compass site.